The First Trip

For months we have been trying to get Quentin out camping. For one reason or another, we have never been successful. Finally, the last 3 day weekend of the summer, Jennifer and I decided that nothing would stand in our way. The next step in the process was to decide where to go. We looked into Utah and taking him through a narrow canyon, but with gas prices at $3.00 a gallon, the 900 mile trip would turn out to be quite expensive. Looking at places near home, we needed to be careful. Everyone would be going to the "popular" places so we started looking at something off the beaten path. We needed to find an out of the way place so Quentin's first over night camping trip would be at a beautiful place with nobody around (plus we were taking the dog which does not play well with others).
I remember seeing an article in a Backpacker Magazine (August 2005) which was for a hike to Crystal Lakes outside of Breckenridge. We had our family trip destination.
Saturday morning we packed up the car with the gear and were on our way. We arrived at the trail head and found 40 cars. The trailhead was actually 2 different hikes, one to a different set of lakes and a waterfall, and then the jeep trail/hiking path to Crystal Lake. We did not relish the thought of spending our time with other campers. We drove up the jeep trail about a mile in the Pathfinder and parked in the trees. The jeep trail went to Wheeler cut off which was still a mile from the lakes. Where we parked was about a mile from Wheeler cut off. We began to hike to the cut off and passed several people and vehicles. By this time it was 2pm. We got to the cut off around 2:45 and had to make a decision. While studying the map at the car, I noticed an unnamed lake about 2 miles to the North. It was in a valley and looking at the map, had plenty of vegetation surrounding it. The one concern that I had was that it was Quentin's first trip, and I was about to take him through the wilderness with no trail, no markings and no idea where we were, with just a map and a compass. After seeing 5 more people come down the trail from the lakes and learning that the Crystal Lake hike was in the local newspaper, we made the call and started bushwhacking towards the unnamed lake.
We trekked across the side of the mountain leaving cairns (a stack of rocks that makes a trail finder) every 500 feet or so in the dense forest. We finally arrived at a very large rock field. I checked our bearings and found some landmarks and knew where we were on the map. We navigated through the rock field and got to the other side with minimal effort. While going through we discovered wild raspberry bushes. We helped ourselves to the berries and it was a welcomed snack.
We began the small uphill climb to the bowl located at the base of 2 mountains. After we crested the short climb we saw the oasis. It was a pristine lake that was beautiful, far beyond our expectations. Yukon broke into an all out sprint to get a drink and we were not too far behind. We got to the lake and started looking for a spot to set up camp.
After getting the tent up, thermarest's and sleeping bags placed, Quentin had the urge to throw rocks in the water. Jennifer told him that instead of just throwing rocks, why don't you try to skip them. She showed Quentin the proper technique and after many attempts, he got the hang of it and skipped for hours.
All the skipping made Quentin hungry and I made dinner on the MSR stove we brought along. After dinner, it was time to start a camp fire, another Quentin first. We made the call to keep it nice and small due to the lack of precipitation we have had in the mountains. Luckily, Quentin had saved enough room for marshmallows. Again, Jennifer taught Quentin the proper technique for roasting the perfect brown marshmallow.
We then put out the fire and headed to bed. We had to make the decision if we were going to leave the dog off the leash, or tie her to the tree. We were not afraid of her coming into contact with other people, but chasing wildlife. We felt she would be okay and let here sleep in the Vestibule of the tent where she did just fine and slept all night. I awoke around 6:30 am. I got out of the tent and let the others sleep. As I was sitting watching the sun rise on the lake, a herd of Elk that were grazing on the other side of the lake caught my eye. I watched them for about a half hour just enjoying the peace and quiet and thinking how glad I was that I could share this with my family, and no other campers.
After waking up, we made some breakfast, packed up the gear, and headed back to the car. Along the way we found our cairns and more raspberries. Following our cairns, we made it back to the jeep trail with little effort and back to the car. We figure that from the car to the lake was 3 miles one way, not too bad for Quentin's first trip. He had a great time and is excited for the next trip.













Pictures Top to Bottom:
The map of the route we took
Q, Jennifer and Yukon on the jeep trail hiking in
The rock field
Q's quick snack
The lake shortly after showing up
Lake side accommodations
Jennifer teaching Q the fundamentals in skipping rocks
Q practicing
Jennifer teaching Q the fundamentals in roasting marshmellows
Elk early morning graze
Q in the morning
The family hiking out